WAR PICTORIAL NEWS NO 113 [Main Title]

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  • Title: WAR PICTORIAL NEWS NO 113 [Main Title]
  • Film Number: WPN 113
  • Other titles:
  • Summary: An edition of the British official newsreel "War Pictorial News", produced by the Ministry of Information, Middle East.
  • Description: I. 'CHURCHILL'S TOUR.' British Prime Minister Winston Spencer Churchill chats with United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during a visit to Washington to discuss "more victory planning" (Second Washington Conference). Churchill gets out of an official limousine on his way to address the House of Representatives and is greeted outside the Capitol Building by Sol Bloom, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee (May 19 1943). The Duke and Duchess of Windsor are also present to hear Churchill's address, other British dignitaries accompanying Churchill on his tour include Field Marshal Sir Archibald P Wavell and Admiral Sir James Somerville. Civilian crowds gather outside the Capitol Building to hear Churchill's speech broadcast over loudspeakers. Following his address to the House of Representatives, Churchill poses for photographs with Sol Bloom. The tour continues in Algiers (May 29-June 3 1943) where he meets General Dwight D Eisenhower for discussions on the feasibility of Operation Husky. Churchill, accompanied by Anthony Eden, is driven in an open tourer past cheering troops. Churchill examines a knocked-out German PzKpfw VI Tiger tank Ausf E possibly in the environs of Tunis. He later addresses hundreds of British and Commonwealth troops assembled in the impressive ruins of the Roman amphitheatre at Carthage in Tunisia. II. 'NORTH AFRICAN REST CAMP.' A mixed contingent of British and New Zealand troops arrive by soft-skinned vehicle at an Eighth Army rest centre in an undisclosed location in North Africa. Having handed in their rifles to the reception staff for safe-keeping, the troops are issued bedding and are directed to their billets. Off-duty servicemen enjoy a meal at a refectory and later peruse a blackboard listing recreational activities available on and off site (football, cinema, tombola). New Zealand infantry cycle out of the main gates of the recreation compound carrying tennis racquets. A party of Royal Navy ratings on horseback encourage off-duty nurses to accompany them for a ride. Off-duty British servicemen enjoy a spot of sea fishing using a rocky outcrop as seating. III. 'RUSSIA.' Mounted Russian cattle drovers congregate for a chat on vast grasslands near the Caspian Sea. The commentary outlines the activities of land workers and fisher-folk and stresses their role in contributing to victory. Sheep herders tend their flock in rugged mountainous scenery. Russian land workers use a tractor-drawn combine harvester to cut a grain crop. Women land workers gather a tea crop in Central Russia. Grain sacks are towed by camel through the portals of a collective farm. Elsewhere the female crew of a Russian trawler tend to their nets (Black Sea ?). A Russian Navy coastal patrol craft delivers a newspaper to the trawler which shows a photograph of the female trawler captain on its front page. The commentary states that by her devotion to work the captain has set up a new record for a seasons catch over views of the trawler's crew hauling in their nets. IV. 'THANKSGIVING FOR VICTORY.' King George VI, accompanied by Queen Elizabeth, the Duchess of Kent and Princess Margaret and Elizabeth, leaves St Paul's Cathedral following a National Service of Thanksgiving for the North African victories. The commentary states that the Cathedral was filled by with men and women from all walks of life and representatives from thirty-four nations. Anthony Eden and General Charles de Gaulle are evident on the steps of St Paul's at the end of the service.
  • Alternative Title:
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised: Yes
  • Object_Number: WPN 113
  • Sound: Sound
  • Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM
  • Featured Period: 1939-1945
  • Production Date: 1943-07-05
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: Ministry of Information, Middle East (Production sponsor) War Pictorial News (Production company) Martin, Charles (Production individual) Keating, Rex1910-02-142005-01British newsreel commentator, WW2 period (Production cast)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations: Churchill, Winston Leonard Spencer (person) Roosevelt, Franklin Delano (person) Bloom, Sol (person) Edward, Prince (Duke of Windsor) (person) Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (person) Wavell, Archibald Percival (person) Somerville, James Fownes (person) Eisenhower, Dwight David (person) Eden, (Robert) Anthony (person) Brooke, Alan Francis (person) George VI, King (person) Elizabeth II, Queen (person) Elizabeth II, Queen (person) Margaret, Princess (person) Kent (HRH Duchess of) (person) Churchill, Winston Leonard Spencer (person) Eden, (Robert) Anthony (person) Gaulle, Charles André Joseph Marie de (person) British Army, 8th Army (regiment/service)
  • Keywords: recreation, British military - general (object name) delegations, British international - political (object name) agriculture, Russian - arable (object name) agriculture, Russian - animal (object name) agriculture, Russian - fisheries (object name) agriculture, Russian - tropical (object name) Tunisia & Carthage <amphitheatre> (geography) USA & Washington, DC <Capitol> (geography) USA & Washington, DC <White House> (geography) Russia & Volga (River) (geography) Russia & Black Sea (geography) Russia & Caspian Sea (Coast) (geography) GB, England & London, EC <Saint Paul's Cathedral> (geography) (concept)
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Sound Soundtrack language: English Title language: English Subtitle language: Arabic
  • Technical Details: Format: 35mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 901 ft; Running time: 10 mins
  • HD Media:Yes
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    WPN 113

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